Page 23 - September October 2014

A Circular Track Plan Des Browne
Peter North’s superb “Joachin, Va.” layout, see Model Railroader July 2014 “Appalachia in an Oval”, reminded me that I had once (1970) designed a “circular” layout. For a continuous layout, the very minimum is a circle of track! Very boring, of course, so the twisted figure-of-eight became a common choice, either with a diamond crossing to avoid gradients or with gradients giving an “over and under” schematic, and essentially this is the track scheme for the “BAT RR”. Adding a terminus on a “handle” makes it even more interesting. I did in fact start to build it, though never got beyond the terminus baseboard before I felt there were some fundamental flaws. Mainly the tracks I thought were too close and therefore difficult to scenic well and not really suitable for the longer trains I was beginning to favour.
I found the plan again (I hardly ever throw that sort of thing out!) and realise I still quite like some of the ideas; loads/empties industry pair, out and back operation, including a wye. As a plan, it would likely qualify for the NMRA Civil Engineering Achievement Certificate. One of my requirements was to fit a small bedroom of 10’ x 12’, as I knew we would soon be moving house and I wanted something more modest than I had outlined for our then home. The idea was to fit it into a room diagonally, so the “handle” of the “BAT” shape would be in a corner to maximise its length and still have a bit of room round the terminus. Access for one person to the inside of the loop would be by duckunder but if built at a highish level, say 54”, would give easier access. I had thought to have scenery inside as well, giving a greater length of scenicked run. Nowadays this is called “open staging”, though at the time I hadn’t considered it anything special.
The terminal at Pamelton shows a spur to be used either as a team track or for a Doodlebug, two tracks extend through the depot with room for only two 60’ cars at the platform. Passenger trains would expect to back in. Extending these tracks could allow for longer trains and would greatly improve operations, with perhaps either a crossover or a single turnout to allow trains to appear to return to a single-track main line. That would allow a train to enter normally and a loco to “run round”. A loco service area inside the junction would include an interlocking tower as well as fuel oil and water tanks and a sanding facility. The only industry is a hopper car unloading facility, the “Ore Processor”, using a loads in, empties out system, connecting through the backdrop to a loads out, empties in facility, at Tiscuston Mine. Logically, after processing, the resulting ingots
would then be forwarded using boxcars on a spur beside the plant. Perhaps this track should also be extended inside to allow all that work to be hidden. I have shown Bludie Depot just above the mine, which would be scenically connected though “smiles” apart. This depot also has a spur, which would be a team track, though I guess a Doodlebug could terminate there to be out of the way while other trains would use the staging. I would probably have used a Santa Fe FT pair to provide freight service and a two-car passenger train with a road switcher. My first steamer, a Santa Fe 2-8-0 #1962, would be used for the mine run. Operationally, the main-line trains would be staged near Bludie, normally bypassing Pamelton until some switching was desired. The main line is about 40’ long so gives quite a decent run. The mine run is quite complicated as there is no run-around at Tiscuston, so observers would have to ignore the necessary use of some Pamelton tracks for the required sorting. An arriving train of empties from Pamelton via Bludie to the mine would stop on the main line in the bypass tunnel emerging at the bottom of the next grade back to Bludie. The loco would uncouple and reverse towards Pamelton, then head towards Tiscuston, now conveniently facing the correct way for the return journey. After parking the caboose in the Pamelton tunnel, the empties would be switched into the mine and the loads, waiting on the other mine track, would be collected. The caboose can be re-coupled and the train would then proceed over the hill via Bludie and back to Pamelton, where the loads are fed to the processor, with more complicated switching.
The name “Bludie and Tiscuston Rail Road” seems a bit “twee” now, 40-odd years later, but at that time most of us were, and I still am, in awe of John Allen’s Gorre and Daphetid. If I were to build this layout now, I would think about widening the baseboards to perhaps 8’ overall to allow for more scenery, and somewhere for derailments to avoid hitting the floor! But just look at what Peter has done in 6’ so, as usual, it all depends on what one can do, no absolute rules! Obviously the design could be extended easily along walls eventually, to a larger terminal or another loop for returning trains, should a larger space become available. My interests now lead me to have a closer hold on a prototype theme than to freelance, but the Santa Fe is a big place, never mind using someone else’s favourite prototype, and it might be possible to find a new name to satisfy that particular whim!
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